Snowshoe
To celebrate our 1 year anniversary, my boyfriend Evan and I spent the weekend at Snowshoe Mountain in my home state of West Virginia. Snowshoe is very special to me. It is where I learned to ski, celebrated birthdays and created numerous memories of friends, family and hilarious ski accidents.
We decided to take a trip somewhere instead of buying gifts. I would rather spend quality time with him rather than buy a gift, especially this close to Christmas.
I began planning the trip a month and a half before. I booked a perfect Air BnB for a great price. We also purchased our lift tickets several weeks before. My ticket was $55 for ‘Young Adult’ and his was $60 for ‘Adult.’ I think we got a discount on the Air BnB and lift tickets because the dates we chose weren’t considered peak season. I brought my skis and he brought his snowboard so we did not have to worry about an additional rental fee. Other than some cash for dinner and gas, everything was paid for.
Evan clocks out at 8:30 pm (I know, that’s super late). We decided to drive the 6 hours on a Saturday morning from Lexington to Snowshoe. We both took off work the following Monday to make the trip doable. The drive wasn’t bad at all, it’s just long. The nice part about that drive is there isn’t any traffic on the highways or backroads. If you are hesitant to take a weekend trip to Snowshoe from Lexington or from other places in Kentucky, do it! Just allocate a half day to travel. It is totally worth it.
On Saturday morning at 10:30, we packed the car and hit the road. We listened to Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers the whole drive through those beautiful Appalachian mountains. We finally arrived at the top of the mountain around 4:30, with plenty of daylight left! We got checked into the lodge, unloaded the car and parked.
Our Air BnB was perfect. It was a studio in Rimfire Lodge. The studio was conveniently located in The Village. Even its location within Rimfire made it very accessible to the point we could easily run up to the room. It is also right across the street from a free parking lot. It was modern and well decorated. It had a comfy bed, fireplace, Roku TV, a kitchenette and a gorgeous view of the mountains. I was in love! I was so proud of myself for booking such a cute place, especially for my first time booking an Air BnB.
Once settled, we got ready to shop in The Village. Evan bought a new snowboard and bindings from Mountain Adventure Center. All of the employees were very helpful and friendly. After shopping, we ran our purchases to the room before heading back down for dinner at Cheat Mountain Pizza.
After dinner we went back to the room, recouped then headed to the bus stop. At Snowshoe, like every other ski resort in America, they have buses to transport people to various places on the mountain. We hopped on the bus to take us to Tuques across from the Western Territory to meet up with my cousin Lauren and her friends.
Tuques is a groovy restaurant and bar. Because we just ate, all we had were a few beers, although the food looked tempting. We sat around the table for a while, laughing and sharing memories. It was fun hanging out with Lauren because I don’t get to see her very often. Seems like just yesterday we were little kids playing “house” in the playroom.
The crew decided to take the party to a bar at Top of the World. We hopped on the bus and headed to Hoots. Hoots has a “local” bar vibe. There was a DJ and tons of people. We spent several hours here, meeting people from all corners of the country. It is very interesting hearing where people are from. When I tell them, “I’m from here” they look totally puzzled. I am the minority West Virginian amongst the crowd in West Virginia, go figure. The bouncers shut it down at midnight so we took the bus back to The Village and called it a night.
The following morning we prepped for the slopes. Once ready, I headed down to MAC to rent snowboard boots. Luckily Evan let me borrow his old one and I was very happy because I didn’t have to spend a fortune on a rental. Once fitted, I dropped my Vans off at the Studio, got my gear and headed to Starbucks in The Village. I got a medium white chocolate mocha and a cheese stick. Odd combination but it gave me the energy I needed. We walked a short distance to the slope and got adjusted.
This was my second time snowboarding. Last February I snowboarded for the first time at Perfect North in southern Indiana. Ever since I have been dying to go again. It is so much fun. I think I like it because I am so used to skiing that it has become second nature. Snowboarding is a different concept and challenging. I definitely want to get better.
Unfortunately the conditions were terrible. There was dense fog and it rained off and on throughout the day. Snowshoe hadn’t gotten a good snowstorm, let alone cold enough weather to make more snow. The temperature was in the lower 40s. I think about 14 or so slopes were open, mostly greens. I was disappointed but just accepted it. I wasn’t concerned with getting a ton of runs in anyway, I just wanted to have a chill day. And it was just that.
I fell several times. My clothes were soaked. I probably spent the majority of the day on the ground than upright. I even had a few temper tantrums. Poor Evan. Bless his heart, he was so patient. After a few hours I had had enough and decided to switch to skiing. We went back to the studio, got out of our clothes, relaxed for a second and then went back out for lunch. We ate at The Junction, which is located in The Village on the edge of the slope near Ballhooter lift. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and it was amazing. I highly recommend this place if you are looking to eat somewhere for a convenient lunch. After lunch we skied for another hour longer and ended the day around 3:00.
Later that evening we cleaned up to have dinner at Foxfire Grill to celebrate our anniversary. We walked to the restaurant, got seated and I ordered a glass of pinot noir. I ordered the pot roast with a side of corn pudding and mashed potatoes. I love this restaurant not only because it has lots of birthday memories associated with it but because the food is always delicious and the service is great. If you are visiting, definitely check this place out.
I am thankful Evan and I were able to celebrate our anniversary at Snowshoe. We had a wonderful time and made memories we won’t forget.
Air BnB Information: